Part Three

Over the past two weeks, we’ve looked at Psalm One’s divine wisdom. Part one, we saw how God deals with the unrighteous and the rewards He grants His chosen ones. In part two God shows us His outlook on believers. Now we are at part three where we come to see how Christ fulfilled this incredible Psalm.

Christ’s Fulfillment of Psalm One

A point often overlooked is that when God delivered Christ into the world, it wasn’t to abolish the Old Testament. No, one of His purposes is to fulfill its truth (Matthew 5:17).

For example, when Christ faced the Sanhedrin, it exposed ungodly counsel (Mark 14:53-65). Jesus said don’t resist an evil person (Matthew 5:39). When Christ spoke on the freedom of truth, many scoffed at Him. They called Him a demon and picked up stones to throw them at Him (John 8:31-59). These three teachings of Jesus parallel with Psalm 1:1 message.

Christ spoke many truths on God-centeredness. One of those realities is formulating a personal relationship with God.

Jesus said:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:1, NKJV)

This one verse aligns itself with Psalm 1:2. Jesus directs us to make God our primary relationship. Asking, seeking, and knocking at the Lord’s door includes meditating on His word. One of the benefits of applying these actions is discovering divine joy. This jubilance is an incredible experience, for it doesn’t come from ourselves. When God gives joy, it’s supernatural.

When Christ shared the Parable of the Sower, it heightens Psalm 1:3-4. 

Remember, in part one, we saw how God used a tree as the foundation for eternal life (Psalm 1:3). Jesus referred to a seed planted in divine soil as the entrance into heaven.

Christ put it this way:

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matthew 13:23, NKJV)

Jesus promises those to whom God grants salvation receive, hear, and gains access to His wisdom. And once we walk through His door, He equips us with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). This fruit yields three different amounts of production, and the Holy Spirit reveals our output.

The Psalmist used chaff for ungodliness (Psalm 1:4). Again, Jesus used a seed that fell on the wayside.

Christ tells us this:

 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. (Matthew 13:19. NKJV)

Like the wind mentioned by the Psalmist, Jesus uses Satan as the one who takes those whom God turns over to the world. It’s hard to understand why God would take such harsh action, but the Holy Spirit used Apostle Paul to answer the reason (Romans 1:18-21). God gave Paul the wisdom to discern this difficult revelation.

Christ fulfills Psalm One verse five by dividing God’s chosen ones from those who rebel against Him (Matthew 10:34-39). Jesus’s main objective was to bring the Jewish people back to God, but His unheard-of wisdom of God’s truth turned many against Him. But some did believe, and this placed a wedge between them and their family members.

In chapter twenty-five of Matthew’s Gospel, Christ explains the final verse (Psalm 1:6). Jesus also used division to fulfill this verse (Matthew 25:32-46). In those fifteen verses, Christ divided the righteous from the unlawful. He used a compassionate heart toward the needs of our neighbors as the means to cast out unbelievers.  

These are a few ways that Christ fulfilled Psalm One. His Gospel holds many others. God wants us to connect with His full truth, and He used Jesus to unite the Old and New Testaments.

Final Thoughts

As has been noted, the wisdom Psalm One unfolds is divine. Its fulfillment came at the cross, where Christ died for our salvation. God’s truth is alive through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The Lord rescued us from the bottom pit, and for this reason, I’m forever grateful for His love. 

I love to hear your outlook on Psalm One.